1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital television (TV), and more particularly, to a digital television and a channel editing method for the digital TV by which various channel information is edited efficiently.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, television (TV) is an apparatus that processes broadcast signals. Each of the broadcast signals carries a broadcast program (e.g., broadcast contents) and allows the TV audience to watch the broadcast program. The TV audience can get various kinds of information from watching the TV. The TV is one of the most representative media of multimedia apparatuses developed. As the technology of multimedia develops, digital manner is substituted for analog manner more and more.
A digital TV replays all the information of video, audio and data of broadcast programs processed digitally in the original video and audio signals. Such a digital TV is immune to noise compared to an analog TV, needs a low transmission power, can employ the error correction technology, and is easy to search, process and edit information.
Particularly, the number of channels of the current digital TV through which broadcast programs are transmitted can be expanded as ten times as that of analog channels. TV audience can view various information through each of the channels so that the desire of the TV audience for certain information can be satisfied completely.
As described above, the digital TV can search, process and edit the broadcast programs (channels). The TV audience can register or delete the broadcast programs according to their need or desire. Whenever necessary, a TV viewer can register his or her favorite channel(s) using a remote control and can watch the favorite channel at any time.
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a general digital TV.
Referring to FIG. 1, the general digital TV includes a single tuner 1 for selecting a broadcast signal, a demultiplexer 2 for demultiplexing the broadcast signal selected by the tuner 1 (i.e., a transport stream multiplexed in time domain), an image processor 3 for performing image processing so as to display the broadcast signal demultiplxed by the demultiplexer 2, a display unit 4 (e.g., screen) for displaying the processed image signal, a key inputting unit 5 for inputting a user's request command and operation-related commands, and a microcomputer 6 for outputting corresponding control signal(s) according to the command inputted by the key inputting unit 5 and controlling the tuner 1, the demultiplexer 2 and the image processor 3 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart to illustrate a general channel editing method for the digital TV of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 2, it is determined whether a user has selected a channel edit menu using a remote control or the like (S11). The channel previously selected by the user is displayed on the display unit 4 before the user selects the channel edit menu (S14). In other words, the channel that the user has selected before the digital TV is turned on is memorized. Then, the selected channel is tuned and displayed on the display unit 4 when the digital TV is turned on.
At step S11, when the user selects the channel edit menu, a channel edit screen 24 such as one shown in FIG. 3 is displayed (S17) on the display unit 4. In other words, as shown in FIG. 3, a channel map 22 identifying the current channel and all other channels using channel numbers in series is displayed on the channel edit screen 24 (S20). The current channel may be the channel that is being broadcast now or the channel changed by the user, and is identified using block highlights. The broadcast on the current channel is displayed in a channel broadcast area 20 of the channel edit screen 24. Here, channel 2 is identified as the currently selected channel and the program on channel 2 is displayed in the channel broadcast area 20. The channel numbers memorized by an automatic tuning function or the like are not displayed in bold, whereas the channel numbers that are not memorized are displayed in bold. For example, in FIG. 3, the channel numbers 2, 7, 13, 14, etc. are displayed in bold compared to other channel numbers 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, etc. According to this configuration, the user can see that the channel numbers 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, etc. are the memorized channels or available channels. In addition, the channels set to be as favorite channels may have a predetermined mark (♥) next to their channel numbers.
Returning to FIG. 2, once the channel edit screen is displayed at steps S17 and S20, it is determined whether the user has inputted any predetermined key (S23) to select one of the bolded-channel numbers (memorized channels) from the channel edit screen. If the key for the desired channel number has been inputted, the broadcast signal corresponding to the channel number selected by the user is tuned and displayed in the channel broadcast area 20 of the channel edit screen (S26). Only one channel broadcast can be displayed in the area 20 at any given time. In the example of FIG. 3, the user has selected channel 2. Thus, the broadcast program on channel 2 is displayed in the broadcast area 20 of the channel edit screen 24.
Then, it is determined whether a channel edit key (function) is inputted by the user (S29). The process returns to step S26 if the channel edit key is not inputted.
But, if the channel edit key is inputted by the user, then the channel edit function according to the selected channel edit key is performed (S32). These channel edit functions may include memorizing and deleting selected channel number(s) and setting favorite channel(s).
When the channel edit function is completed, a channel end key is inputted by the user and the channel edit process is terminated (S35).
In the current broadcast, there are 69 wireless channels, 125 wire channels and 60 DTV channels. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3, the channel edit screen 24 displays all the channel numbers (2-46), and the brightness and darkness of channel numbers indicate whether or not a broadcast program is provided for the corresponding channel. In addition, predetermined marks are attached to those channel numbers of the user's favorite channels among the memorized channels so that the user can quickly recognize the user's favorite channels from other channels.
The above-discussed channel editing method, however, has the following problems.
First, when the user selects a channel edit menu, in the channel edit screen all the channels are displayed in the form of channel numbers and the broadcast image (or program) of only a single channel selected by the user is displayed in the channel broadcast area 20 as shown in FIG. 3. The broadcast situation/program of other channels then cannot be recognized at all unless the user moves through and selects each of the memorized channels one at a time from the channel edit screen. As a result, the channel edit process cannot be efficiently achieved.
Second, since there exist numerous channels due to the variety of media, it is wasteful in time and energy for the user to roll through the channel numbers.